Olympic Gold
by xMementoMorix
Summary: AU Annabeth Chase is a gymnast with something to prove. Percy Jackson is a swimmer with a goal to meet. But when the two attend the summer Olympics in Athens with deadly secrets, will their eyes stay on the gold, or on each other? All Human! T to be safe!
1. Chapter 1

'Go For Gold'

Annabeth Chase couldn't help but snigger at the slogan that was plastered across, not only the gym, but the entire city, or so it seemed like. It was ridiculous. She couldn't even bother denying it, the slogan was ludicrous. Whoever came up with these things clearly needed to get a better creative designer. Annabeth herself could think of at least ten slogans that would fit the upcoming event much better. But she wasn't here to think. She was here to perform.

However, a performance did not seem like a possibility at the moment. Not when a party was being thrown in her honor. Joy. Her favorite thing in the world. The banners spread across the San Francisco Atlas Gym did not only display the simple, and understated slogan, but they also bore slogans of their own, such as 'Good Luck Annabeth', 'Beat The Best' and 'Get Her To The Greek'. With the exception of the last one, Annabeth found them all to be boring. She was known as the wise one of the gym, but she couldn't have planned her own surprise party. If she had, then it would have been nonexistent.

Smirking at her friend's discomfort, Thalia Grace, best friend of Annabeth Chase, led the blonde gymnast reluctantly across the floor. Thalia had attended her own going away party back in New York, and she'd actually had quite an enjoyable time. It was only fair to force Annabeth to enjoy hers.

"C'mon Annie, it's not every day you leave for the Olympics!" Thalia cried, happily dragging her friend across the gym. Annabeth, for her part, was not swayed. "Well hopefully we'll at least get two trips. Besides, we aren't even leaving for Athens for two more weeks." Annabeth's face grew wistful, probably thinking of all the lost chances for sightseeing. Athens was her dream vacation, and she wouldn't even get a chance to see the Parthenon! Oh well, it couldn't all work out. Besides, like Thalia said, not every girl got the chance to go to the Olympics!

Realizing that Thalia was not going to let her escape the party, Annabeth sighed, and consented to be dragged towards the party. Several of the girls were already going at the Sun Chips and punch. Both Thalia and Annabeth sighed as they looked over the refreshments. Though both of them loved their sport, one thing they could do without was the strict diets. Annabeth loved salad as much as the next gymnast, but that didn't mean she didn't have a chocolate craving on average of once a day.

But for now, she simply grabbed a handful of grapes, and chewed them thoughtfully, while some of the younger girls chattered away with Thalia. Annabeth never tried to act stuck up or prissy around the other girls, it was simply the fact that she didn't have time to spend quality time with them, gossiping about the latest gymnastics scandals. Annabeth was far more concerned with staying out of the scandals, and focusing on her performance.

Thalia however, had no problem with it. "So is it true that you're dating the Olympic swimmer?" A younger gymnastic, Lydia, gushed at Thalia. The dark haired gymnast snorted. "As if." The girls sighed disappointedly, but Thalia smirked, and continued. "No, we're just friends. But sometimes mortal enemies. And then other times allies. Yeah, that describes us pretty well."

By this time Annabeth was actually interested in the conversation. Thalia was never one to shy away from a guy, or dislike him without good reason. So her being 'frienemies' with someone was an interesting thought. And the fact that the guy was going to the Olympics as well was interesting. Annabeth just hoped there wouldn't be any boy drama. She had experienced enough of that in the past few months.

Opening her mouth to steer the conversation away from where it was edging dangerously close to, the party was interrupted by the sharp whistle coming from Stephan Alexander's mouth. "Alright ladies, party's over. Chase and Grace, what the hell are you still doing in my gym?" Both Thalia and Annabeth grinned at Stephan. Though he struck quite a threatening pose when he wanted to, he had taught the both of them how to do somersaults when they were five with the tenderness of an older brother. They could never see him as anything but that.

"Hold on Thals, I've got to grab my duffle bag." Annabeth told Thalia sheepishly, a tad embarrassed that she had left it so long. Thalia smirked, and rolled her eyes. "Well I'll be out in the car anyways, once you get done."

Hurrying into the locker room, Annabeth quickly found her red locker, and spun the dial on her combination. For some reason, it just wouldn't open. Her locker had been giving her trouble lately, for some unknown reason. She had no idea why, but it had been happening that past two months. She had meant to ask Stephan for a new locker, but with the Olympics coming up, she had more important matters on her mind. But she'd have to remember to do so after the trip to Athens. Even if this was the best locker in the gym.

Absentmindedly twirling the combination lock once more, Annabeth wondered if it might be the lock, and not the locker. That was a more reasonable thought certainly, compared to a demon haunting her locker. Annabeth snorted. She, and she alone, had made it through both the Paranormal Activities without screaming or losing all the color of her skin, a fact she was quite proud of. She was hardly about to ruin that with something as trivial as the thought of a demon haunting her locker. An absolutely absurd thought as it was.

However, as she finally managed to open her locker, and pull out her red white and blue duffle bag with the Team U.S.A. logo embellished largely on the front, she saw a photograph at the bottom of her metal locker. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the face. For a moment, she froze, unable to breathe, unaware of everything other than the frantic thumping of her heart.

Noticing a flash of green, Annabeth reached with shaky fingers to grab the green sticky note on the wall of her locker. Reading the familiar writing, Annabeth sucked in a gasp. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, it read. Reading the familiar phrase, Annabeth slowly looked down to the picture. Only one person could have accessed her locker.

Only one person knew what a photograph of her ex-boyfriend Luke Castellan would do to her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Dude, wait up!"

As much as Percy wanted to sigh in annoyance, or ignore the voice that was calling out to him, he couldn't. His loyalty to his friend wouldn't let him. So pausing in the middle of a crowded airport, he waited a tad impatiently for his best friend to catch up to him.

"Grover, you've got to hurry! We're going to miss the plane!" Percy winced just thinking about it. Coach had agreed to let Percy and Grover stay an extra day in New York on the condition that they arrive in time for the assembly. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if they didn't make it. Surely they'd be grounded for the duration of their stay in Athens. Not that Percy thought he'd get far with his lack of experience in the Greek language.

His shaggy haired best friend hurried along, limping slightly, and Percy felt bad. Grover was such a beast in the water, it was easy to forget that on land, he walked with a limp. However, though Percy knew he should apologize, they really had no time. He'd make sure to do it on the plane, if he wasn't puking up his guts by that time, that is.

Finally catching up to his best friend, Grover panted slightly, and leaned on Percy for support. "C'mon Perce, we need to get going!" Percy resisted the urge to roll his green eyes. No duh. However, he wasn't about to say that to his best friend. Grabbing Grover's elbow, he half ran, half dragged his friend to the gate. Arriving with only minutes to spare, Percy practically flung their tickets in the flight attendants hand. She seemed rather surprised, but then managed to compose herself.

Leading them to their first class seats, Grover finally let out a sigh of relief, practically collapsing on the comfortable leather seat. Percy however, was just the opposite. The moment he had stepped onto the plane, he had felt jittery, and more than a little sick. Noticing his best friend's reactions, Grover rolled his eyes.

"Come on Percy, just chill out dude. It's ridiculous how you can ride on a boat for hours without getting seasick, but on a perfectly large, safe, stable plane, you get more freaked out than Nico during Paranormal Activity.

Percy couldn't help but snicker at that joke. Nico Di'Angelo was only fifteen years old, yet he was counted among Percy's best friends. The little dude lucked out, being born on December 29th, he still technically turned sixteen during the year of this Olympics. Percy, however, would turn seventeen on August 18th. Yet the two of them were thick as thieves. They had met two years ago at an Olympic Assembly. Nico had attended with his older sister Bianca, and it was then when Percy, and everyone else for that matter, learned how much Nico excelled in fencing. With only thirteen fencers being taken to the Olympics, Nico had practically made history, and had brought a lot of spotlight towards fencing.

Percy and Grover, on the other hand, were swimmers. Being a part of the Olympics had been their dream for as long as they could remember. However, now that Percy was for sure a part of Team U.S.A. he had another goal in mind. To win eight gold medals. He knew it had been done before, but it was the ultimate goal. Eight Olympic gold medals. He had made his goal public in a press relief, which had shocked the world. If he succeeded, he would be perhaps the youngest athlete ever to achieve such a goal. However, his goal had been overshadowed, much to his chagrin, by the goals of another.

Annabeth Chase. The name itself sent tingles of irritation running down his spine. He had never met the girl in person, yet he despised her with a passion. He had never even seen a picture of her, but in his mind, she was ugly, hideous even. Probably a lanky, mousy girl, with short stringy brown hair, and flat, lifeless eyes. At least, that was Percy's image of her.

"Thinking of Chase again?" Grover asked with a grin. His friend's expression was a dead giveaway. Whenever Percy thought of Annabeth Chase, his brow would furrow, and his eyes would darken. Grover didn't blame the sixteen year old, but he also didn't get the animosity Percy held for the girl. She simply had goals of her own, and though they were literally pried from her with a crowbar, she had made them public.

Percy remembered the day with vivid clarity. He and Grover had been listening to the radio, listening for news about Thalia at the Olympic trials. He was sure she'd make it, she was absolutely incredible. But when he found out she had been awarded silver, rather than gold, he was intrigued. Especially when the girl who won gold came on for an interview.

Throughout the broadcast, Percy could hear the reluctance in her voice, as if she didn't want to be there. But it seemed that she had no other choice. He certainly sympathized with that. He tended to categorize the media hounds with piranhas. However, when the radio manager continued to pry into her Olympic goals, and she finally revealed them, all compassion Percy felt for his fellow athlete dissipated.

Six gold medals. She was aiming for six gold medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Percy felt like chucking something at the radio. At first he had hoped it would be a falsely lead hope, one instantly crushed, but when further questioned Chase revealed that she never made goals that were unattainable. The sincerity in her voice had triggered Percy to look her up, and when he had, it had taken all of his self control not to break the computer screen.

Annabeth Chase was the National freaking Champion of USA gymnastics. Meaning that she was either the best gymnast in the country, or she had performed the best under an extremely high pressure situation. And according to his friend Thalia, it was both. Which was just fan-freaking-tastic. He had tried prying more information from the dark haired gymnast, but even he didn't dare, not when Thalia's blue eyes crackled with electric anger.

"Why is this girl making you so crazy anyways?" Grover asked, flipping through a magazine casually. Percy rolled his eyes. "Because, she's trying to win six gold medals in Athens. Come on man, we've been over this before." Grover sighed. "Well yeah, but I never really paid any attention, because I wanted you to shut up already. But so what if she gets six golds? You're going for eight in one Olympics, so it wouldn't matter, would it?"

Satisfied, and feeling like he had made a good argument, Grover sat back lazily. However, Percy shook his head in disagreement. "No, it does matter Grover. Look, what I'm aiming for has already been done before. I'm doing that for me. But what she's doing? It's brand new. I looked into it. Vitaly Scherbo was the only gymnast ever to win six gold medals at an Olympics. But he was a male gymnast, and they have two more apparatuses than the females do. So if Chase succeeds, not only will she be the first gymnast to sweep all the golds in her sport, she'll also be the youngest gymnast to get that many gold medals."

Grover bit his lip, and tried to come up with another argument. "Well so? What does that have to do with you?" Percy sighed. "Grover, do you remember what it was like? When Michael Phelps earned eight golds?" Grover nodded. "The whole world was watching! People who didn't even care about swimming, people who hate the U.S., they were all watching, because he was going to make history that night. I can't beat that, they don't make it possible to beat. I can just match that. But this Chase girl, she's still got a chance to blow away all the records. She's got a chance that I don't have. If she earns six gold medals, that's what people will associate this year's Olympics with."

It seemed that Grover finally understood, by the way that he shifted uncomfortably. "I guess I get it now. But Percy, no matter what you do, you still made a name for yourself. If your father isn't proud of you now, then I don't know what's wrong with him." Now it was Percy's turn to shift uncomfortably. He loved Grover like a brother, but sometimes it was really annoying how he seemed to be able to just read his emotions like that. Mainly because Grover always hit them spot on, sometimes better than Percy could even read them.

Shifting around in his seat, Percy managed to get comfortable, before falling into an uneasy sleep of water, beams, and Athens. Though he was used to odd dreams, even while sleeping, the dream made him frown. He didn't know why, but there was something unsettling about the laughter that was going on in the background of his dark, disturbing dream.

**A/N: Thank you everyone for sticking through the prologue, and reading the second chapter! I prefer not to bore my readers to death with author's notes, so I prefer to put them at the bottom of the story. I just thought I might clear a few things up, for any confusion that may be going around. This is an AU Percy Jackson fic, so there will be no demigods/gods/Titans. Monsters, I'm still debating about :P However, with that said, I will still try to incorporate every Percy Jackson character I can. It will definitely be a challenge, but there is just something that is so addicting about trying to fit the PJO characters into the mortal world.**

**Also, another thing I would like to mention, is the Olympics. If you cannot tell already, I have been abusing my Poetic License quite horribly around this story, and the same will hold true to the Summer Olympics. The setting of the story will be in 2016, between Los Angeles and Athens Greece. I realize the 2016 Olympics are scheduled to take place in Rio de Janerio, but I figured it would make much more sense in this story, for it to take place in Greece. Also, as for the real life athletes who competed in previous Olympics, they will not be a part of this story. I will reference them, as I did with Michael Phelps above, but to keep this story realistic, they will not be a part of it. Thank you so much for reading my fic, and if I haven't bored you to tears by now, please continue to read! **

**And now, a response to my lovely reviewers!**

**ColaVixen: Thank you so much for taking the time to review! English and Grammar are two of my favorite topics, so it means a lot that you believe mine to be up to your standards! **

**Jamie Daughter of Artemis: Thank you for taking the time to review! It actually struck me while watching reruns of Beijing in 2008. I can't believe how long it took for me to make the connection between Olympics and PJO, but I'm glad I did, since I prefer writing original, to canon.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh my gods, Chiron is so going to kill us." Thalia moaned into her hands, occasionally peeking her electric blue eyes out of her fingers to glare at her brother. Annabeth simply pursed her lips in annoyance, and discreetly reached up to hold onto the handle. Well, she thought she did it discreetly. Instead, Thalia's older brother glared at her through the mirror, though the look didn't go well with his good natured face.

Annabeth knew it was partially her fault, their delay, but it honestly couldn't be helped. She had spent five more minutes than necessary in the locker room, trying not to hyperventilate, and trying to compose herself. It was times like those when her vast array of knowledge did her no good. She knew the repercussions of hyperventilating, and she knew that sitting there would do nothing for her, but none of that knowledge helped her figure out how to deal with this. But after three minutes had passed, she knew she had to do something. She couldn't appear like this to Thalia, her best friend would instantly know something was wrong.

For once, Annabeth thanked the gods for Aphrodite Love. She may have been the most annoying agent in the entire sports world, but she had still been teaching Annabeth the tips and tricks of the trade since the age she was old enough to plaster a fake smile on her face for the cameras. Though Thalia was a client of Aphrodite's as well, the two did not get along, and Thalia never did well with acting for the media. Annabeth was much more adept at it, and she could only pray that Thalia wouldn't see through her lies.

So she had hurriedly grabbed her duffle bag, and made her way out to the car. She found Thalia impatiently tapping her fingers on the leather upholstery, while sending death glares at the glass doors of the Atlas gym every five seconds. When Annabeth spotted who was in the driver's seat, she instantly knew why. Though Apollo was definitely more easy going than his twin sister Artemis, Thalia got on with her older sister much better than she did with Apollo. Annabeth supposed his constant bouts of song writing would get annoying, but in all honesty, she didn't think he was that bad. He certainly wasn't hard to look at.

However, the one time Annabeth had mentioned it to Thalia, the girl had gone nuts, trying to make Annabeth swear off boys permanently. But by that time, she was already secretly dating Luke, so she simply agreed never to date Apollo. Not that Annabeth would anyways. He was several years older than her, and he had quite the reputation for being a lady's man. Though his coach tried to enforce a no-dating rule, his sister was the only one who followed that. In fact, many Olympic coaches had no dating rules, and hardly anyone actually followed them. Their ages all ranged from fifteen to twenty five, some even older. Keeping hormones at bay, especially for the teenagers, was half the battle of the Olympics.

Annabeth personally had believed that it was always mind over matter, but ever since the Luke incident, her mind was at a loss. She fell back completely on gymnastics and knowledge, which was probably what allowed her to pass school, and manage to land a double Arabian. The floor was not her specialty, as she was not exactly a people pleaser. However, it was Annabeth's philosophy, that if she landed enough power moves, she would be able to win gold. After all, that was her golden goal.

Apollo chuckled, and for one mad moment, Annabeth thought he had read her thoughts, or something similar. He did seem to be all-knowing after all. However, instead he just snapped his fingers, crying, "I've got it!" Thalia rolled her eyes and groaned as her older brother cleared his throat. Annabeth winced, bracing herself for what would surely be some unpleasant 'art'.

"_The wind in my face_

_A blue arrow in my shaft _

_I must win the gold…"_

"Oh will you just quit it already!" Thalia complained loudly, cutting Apollo off, in the middle of his improvised song. It was a good thing Apollo could sing, Annabeth thought, because his lyrics really needed work. "You realize when you cut him off, it created a haiku?" Annabeth asked Thalia conversationally. She was pretty sure Apollo hadn't intended to create one, seeing as songs usually matched up their syllables, and actually rhymed, but who knew, other than Apollo?

"Really?" He asked, intrigued by the young gymnast's statement. "And tell me dear Annie, what is this haiku, you speak of?" Well, that answered any lingering questions there were about the song's intentions. Annabeth rolled her stormy grey eyes at her 'nickname'. "I really wish people would stop calling me that." She muttered under her breath. Taking a deep breath, she continued calmly, "A haiku is a Japanese poem that consists of three phrases. The first and third phrases are both five syllables, while the second phrase is seven syllables. Although-"

"Okay, that's enough." Thalia cut in hastily. "As much as I love you Annabeth, I really don't want to listen to an hour long lecture about Japanese culture that leads into the tensions between Taiwan and China." Annabeth glared. "I am not like that!" Thalia smirked. "Au contraire, my dear, you are. You truly are. Need I remind you of the lecture I received on Greek architecture when we found out of the location for this year's Olympics"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Maybe I am like that." Annabeth hastily said, trying to veer Thalia off course. She didn't want Thalia, or worse, Apollo, reading any more into that lecture than what was on the surface. The truth was, Annabeth loved architecture, and she wanted to create it someday. However, right now her goals consisted of Olympic gold, and architecture didn't.

"Hey ladies, welcome to L.A." Apollo cried out, pulling into the U.S.O.C. Headquarters in L.A., and beginning to search for a parking spot. "Uh, maybe we should have gotten here a little earlier." He admitted to the two girls, finding a wall of cars, blocking his every try. Thalia and Annabeth rolled their eyes simultaneously, the universal, 'You think?' gesture.

Apollo ignored them, and after about five minutes of searching, he finally found a parking spot for his sports car, at the very back of the extensive parking lot.

Grabbing Annabeth's hand, Thalia yanked the younger girl out of the car, and began running towards the entrance. Annabeth barely had time to grab her red white and blue duffle bag, before being dragged by her oldest friend, for the second time today. She was sure the pair created quite a sight, a tall well muscled girl with short, spiky black hair, determinedly dragging a slightly reluctant looking short girl with calculating grey eyes, and blonde princess curls across the burning black asphalt, towards one of the largest buildings in the city.

Annabeth couldn't help but look up at the building critically. As she did so, and appraised it with the well trained eye of the architect she wasn't, she couldn't help but stifle a yawn. It was so…boring! For a building that hosted the United States Olympic Committee in one of the largest cities in the world, it was incredibly lackluster. Flat and square.

However, she wasn't granted much time to critique it, instead she was continually dragged along as Thalia burst through the doors, startling the five or six people at the plastic tables, set up right in front of the entrance. Though Annabeth could certainly see why. Thalia must have looked like a madwoman, her hair sticking up in spikes, her eyes practically shooting out sparks; her dramatic entrance probably didn't hurt the image either.

Marching over to the first U.S.O.C. employee she could find sitting at a table, Thalia towered over the poor cowering woman, and asked in a sweet voice that thinly veiled danger, "Excuse me, but where are the Olympic Athletes?" Annabeth couldn't help but pity the woman. After all, she didn't like being in the position to tell Thalia something she didn't want to hear, and she was the gymnast's best friend!

"Um, they're in the auditorium." The lady told Thalia, treading carefully with her words. "But I'm afraid you'll have to go through registration first." Sensing the need Thalia felt to kill this woman, who was pretty much innocent, and guilty only of delivering the message, Annabeth stepped up behind Thalia, and placing her hand comfortingly on her friend's shoulder, she said to the woman, "That's just fine. We'll just hurry on through registration. Thalia, it will go quicker if we split up, so I'll register here, and you go over to table seven." Annabeth had already noticed the impassive man at table seven, and by the grateful looks the woman was sending Annabeth, she had made the right decision.

However, registration, even while being split up, was taking far too long. For some reason, the Gymnastics Committee had decided to register her as Anna Sarah-Beth Sophos. It frustrated Annabeth to no end. Not only did they disastrously mix up her first and middle names, her surname was that of her mother's. If they thought they were doing her a favor, or trying to bring her more attention, courtesy of her mother, they were sadly mistaken. She had made a name for herself, Annabeth Chase. Whether that was what her birth certificate read or not, that was the name she intended to compete in Athens under. And she had proved to the U.S.O.C. lady that she could be just as intimidating as Thalia, if not more so, when she informed her of that fact.

She followed Thalia broodingly, playing with her nametag that read the wrong name. Not paying attention to where she was going, only moments later, she found herself colliding with a strong body going way to fast to be walking. Despite her many years of training in the art that required as much balance as humanely possible, Annabeth went tumbling to the ground. National Champion or not, she was still short in stature, and caught off guard. Not to mention that the young man before her was considerably bigger than her.

As she glared up at the person who had run into her, Annabeth's gaze softened, and she worked hard to keep her jaw in place. Because she had clearly died and gone to Heaven from hitting her head. That must be it. There could be no other explanation. She was Annabeth freaking Chase! Good stuff like this could never happen to her in real life!

After all, it wasn't every day that she met one of the cutest guy's she had ever seen in her life.

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has given this story a chance so far, and a special thanks to my eleven reviewers! I have either responded to your review in the last chapter, or by PM! I will try to reply to all my reviews by PM, but for those who review anonymously, I'll post my responses here. **

**Percabeth4eva: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like the story already, I'm honored that you think it's already great! I'll do my best to update as much as possible!**


	4. Chapter 4

"We are going to be so late." Grover moaned, limping along the empty hallways as fast as he could. Percy couldn't help but agree with his best friend, wishing that they hadn't underestimated L.A. traffic. "I can't believe it. I thought New York traffic was the worst in the world." Grover said, shaking his shaggy brown curls.

Percy shrugged. He had thought pretty much the same, but he'd figured it out in the devastatingly long taxi ride. "Yeah, but hardly anyone actually drives. They either walk, ride taxi's, or go on the subway. Besides, no one is stupid enough to take the largest interstate in America during rush hour." Grover flushed a little, realizing it was his mistake. Percy wasn't saying it to make him feel bad, as he knew, but still. It was a rather stupid mistake. But neither of them had really bothered to do any research about L.A. It's not like they were nerds of wisdom or anything.

Running in the hallway, trying to hurry into the auditorium, neither Percy nor Grover really paid any attention to where they were going. They simply assumed that they were going the right way. After all, Percy had excellent directional skills, perfect, actually. Well, in the water. He had never had a reason to test it out on land, but he was sure it was basically the same. If he could navigate his way at sea, without a map, surely he could find the auditorium.

However, due to his lack of attention, he eventually collided with a body. At first, Percy thought he had run into a potted plant or something. That was until he heard a small squeak, and he looked down to see a small body on the ground. After a moment of gaping, Percy realized, due to the long blonde hair splayed across the face of his victim, that it was a girl. And as she stood up, pushing her blonde princess curls out of her face, he realized that it was a gorgeous girl.

However, he really didn't have time to appraise the beautiful curves of her small frame, because her deep grey eyes were shooting sparks at him. She crossed her arms under her chest, and Percy made sure to keep his eyes on hers. He didn't think he was that strong, to send a girl tumbling down to the ground anyways. But when he thought more about it, he was a little over six feet tall, and she looked to be barely five and a half feet. There was quite a bit of difference between the two.

"Percy?" A familiar voice called out. With slight reluctance, he tore his eyes away from those of the blonde girl's, and to his surprise, he found himself staring into the electric blue orbs of Thalia Grace. "Thalia!" He cried in surprise. "What are you doing here?" The tall gymnast rolled her eyes, and Percy mentally smacked himself for asking such a redundant question.

"Well, I'm an Olympic Gymnast, here at the USOC, heading towards the auditorium for the Olympic Assembly. I think it would be fair to say that I'm trying to go to the meeting, wouldn't you agree Seaweed Brain?"

Percy felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Seaweed Brain was the nickname Thalia had oh-so-graciously bestowed upon him, dubbing it, 'cute' and 'fitting'. Fitting though it was, it annoyed Percy to no end. He tried reciprocating the name by calling Thalia 'Pinecone Face' to match her prickly personality, but it was to no avail. He was doomed to remain a Seaweed Brain by someone who had no weak spot.

"While this is all so much fun chatting and whatnot, besides the fact that I just love being left out of the loop, I really think we should be going. We're late enough as it is." The blonde girl spoke up rationally, and Percy smiled down at her. However, his grin was met with a confused stare. He quickly wiped the goofy look off his face, and tried to perfect the face that displayed the intellectual side of him. A hard feat to master, considering that side was practically non-existent. However, he was a fairly good actor.

"She's right." He said seriously, ignoring the weird looks Thalia and Grover were shooting him. "After all, this is the Olympics, it's not just something we can gamble around with. I for one, am not ready to risk my job." It seemed that his statement made sense, and once again, Percy found himself thanking whatever gods were out there, for his public statement concerning his Olympic goals.

"So since Grover and I were going the wrong way, I say we follow Thalia and…" Percy frowned, realizing he didn't know the beautiful blonde's name. He checked her nametag, before Thalia cut him off. "This is Anna-"

"Anna Sophos." It was Percy's turn to cut Thalia off. Thalia's eyes widened while Anna frowned. "I'm not incapable of reading Thals." Suddenly looking a tiny bit nervous, Thalia started nodding, actually looking a little spastic. "Yeah, Anna Sophos. That's her."

Anna frowned. "Well, yeah, technically it's Anna, but actually it's, Anna-" Once again, Percy decided to display his rudeness by interrupting her once again. "Well, I'm sure your name is beautiful and all, but we really must get a move on. Besides, the name Anna will always stick in my memory now, do you mind if I just call you that?"

The blonde shrugged, looking a little peeved though, to be quite honest. Though Percy was sure his rudeness had something to do with that, they were really running late. He would find some way to make it up to her later. At the moment, the more pressing concern was getting into the auditorium, and as they now realized, they would have to do it unnoticed.

Realizing this fact, and taking leadership upon himself, Percy whispered to his fellow athletes, "Grover, hold the door. Follow me, but only after five seconds." Thalia looked like she wanted to protest-shocker there-but Percy had already crouched down, and snuck into the packed auditorium. Five seconds later, he saw Anna and Thalia, and five seconds after that, Grover followed.

The four of them stealthily slipped into seats in the very back row. Percy breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that they had managed to make it unnoticed. However, when Percy finally looked down, he saw who the speaker was, and his stomachs did flips. Not the tingly, happy flips they did when he saw Anna, but the foreboding, scary flips.

Chiron Brunner was staring straight into his eyes. He knew that they had been late.

Percy groaned aloud. Chiron was a pretty cool dude, but he would not put it past the USOC representative to alert his Coach to the fact that they had arrived to the Assembly late. And if Poseidon found out, both Percy and Grover were dead. He couldn't speak for Thalia and Anna-hell he didn't even know what sport Anna competed in, though he was willing to bet it was gymnastics-but he was fairly sure their coach would be none too pleased as well.

Waiting until Chiron was looking somewhere else, Percy discreetly nudged Grover. "He knows!" He whispered, trying to set Grover on alert. However, he was pretty sure he did too well in that aspect, because suddenly all attention was drawn to them, as the man sitting next to Chiron chose that moment to speak up.

"And if we haven't already, let us all welcome our late athletes, Peter Johannesson, Grant Underside, Tatiana Gage, and Annaliese Sophia."

The four all had different reactions to Dionysus' malicious announcement. Thalia gave the pudgy, middle aged man a death glare. Did she look like a Tatiana? Grover just looked confused as to who he was talking about. Understandable, considering the jerk decimated their names so horribly. Anna was blushing ferociously, obviously embarrassed at being caught. Percy however, simply waved lazily at the athletes who all turned to look at them.

"Something tells me we're going to be the best of friends."

**A/N: Merry Christmas you guys! And Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and Happy Solstice! And if I've missed a holiday you celebrate, well than happy whatever you celebrate! Here is my Christmas gift to you! I happen to have a question, regarding upcoming chapters. I'm planning on incorporating an ex-girlfriend or two, for our favorite non-son of Poseidon! Now, I definitely have one in mind, but for the second one, should she be an IC Rachel, or an IC Drew? I am going to try my hardest not to create any OC's, unless absolutely necessary. **

**Also, being a visual learner myself, I have decided to add links to the outfits I picture each character wearing. I might not do it every chapter, but I'll try my best **


	5. Chapter 5

"I cannot even believe that Dionysus would be so malicious, as to announce it like that!" Annabeth cried, the outrage tangible in her voice. Percy looked at her darkly. "I certainly can." He muttered. Annabeth continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I mean, so we were what, five minutes late? Is that a crime? And must he always insist upon decimating our names? The U.S.O.C. does a good enough job of that."

Absentmindedly, Annabeth glowered down at her nametag. Honestly, people needed to learn how to do basic research. "Well now that the fun is all over, what say you three to grabbing a bite to eat. I'm famished." Thalia piped up from behind. Annabeth didn't want to admit it, but lunch sounded really good right now.

Percy and Grover spoke immediately, almost cutting Thalia off with their haste. "I'm in." They said simultaneously. Annabeth rolled her stormy eyes. It seemed that teenage boys would never change, even teenage boys who were Olympic athletes. Then she realized all eyes were on her, and her stomach rumbled traitorously. "Oh all right." Annabeth gave in. "But I get to pick."

"Deal!" Thalia cried happily. Annabeth smirked as she saw Grover and Percy glancing at each other nervously. She supposed, considering how little they knew about her, including her actual name, they had good reason to be nervous. Besides, her slight build and small frame was indication that she might be one of those anorexic types.

In all honesty, Annabeth was not your everyday gymnast. As Thalia often commented, she looked like a butterfly, ate like a boar. However, she wasn't about to reveal that to the boys. She decided to let them bask in there doubt for a while longer, and then grovel when they realized she actually had excellent taste in food.

Which she did. Though Annabeth loved Greek food especially, she knew that not everyone would have a taste for it. And while she was sure that the other three would get used to it during their stint in Athens, she decided she'd take them for Italian instead. After all, the Italians had some of the best food in the world.

"Come on, my dad dropped my car off in the parking lot." Annabeth led them to her silver Audi, and she heard one of the boys whistle. Realizing it was Grover, she arched a brow. "And I'm supposed to believe you don't have a car just this nice, if not nicer?"

Grover blushed. "Erm, well I don't, but Perce here sure does." Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Care to divulge? I have two stepbrothers, and based on Apollo's incessant raving about sports cars, I'm sure I'll be able to deduce the value of it."

Percy scratched the back of his head, flushing red. Annabeth's interest was now piqued. He wasn't embarrassed at being called out for his tardiness, but he was embarrassed by his car? Had Annabeth missed something? Maybe Grover had been sarcastic, and when he had said Percy had a nice car, he was lying. However, any doubts about that flew out the window at Percy's next words.

"Umm, well actually, it's a-uh, it's a Maserati Spyder."

Annabeth's jaw dropped. That was one of the nicest cars on the market. She couldn't even imagine the kind of endorsements Percy must land to own that kind of car. Then again, it shouldn't be hard for him to earn endorsements, Annabeth noted as she appraised him. He was definitely one of the best looking athletes, one she would certainly not mind looking at.

However, she reminded herself to do just the opposite. He obviously knew Thalia, and until Annabeth heard the full story from her best friend, she refused to make a move. "Nice car." Annabeth managed to say faintly. Percy smiled, but Annabeth took notice of the fact that it was still tinged with embarrassment, not the slightest bit cocky.

"Well come on, get in. Or would you guys rather stay here, and eat the lame food the U.S.O.C has provided?" And with that, the other three quickly scrambled to find a seat in Annabeth's car. Smirking, she slid into the driver's seat, and noticed with a small sigh, that Percy was the one who claimed shotgun, with Thalia glowering at him from the back.

Not surprising really. Percy had to have at least sixty pounds on Thalia, which wasn't exactly a hard feat. However, the tall gymnast had perfected the death glare upon coming out of her mother's womb. Percy must have known her well to be immune to it. After all, he was staring her in the eye through the rearview mirror, and smirking at her in return.

But when he turned to Annabeth, his smirk turned into a dazzling smile, one that made Annabeth very glad she was sitting down, because otherwise her knees would have given out, and she would have collapsed on the spot. As it was, she currently held the steering wheel in a death grip, turning her knuckles white.

Thankfully, the restaurant she had in mind was only five minutes away. Pulling up to the front door of Minerva's, she tossed the keys to the valet clad in the restaurants standard purple. A fitting color for the perfect restaurant. Not many restaurants deserved the color of royalty, but Annabeth believed Minerva's did.

"Come on you guys, it's a good Italian restaurant, now hurry up." Both Grover and Percy perked up at hearing the word Italian, and a rather comical light flared in their eyes. Thalia snickered at the two, and they all followed as Annabeth lead the way. They hung back while Annabeth chatted with the friendly host. He was rather young, and he seemed a bit dazzled, to be quite honest.

"Great news!" Annabeth cried, clapping her hands together happily, approaching the other three. Percy raised his eyebrows, and continued looking sulky. "What, have a date with the maître di?"Annabeth frowned, slightly confused with Percy's reaction. "Um, no, not quite. I managed to get us spots without a reservation. We only have to wait five minutes."

Percy brightened considerably, though Annabeth still eyed him with a confused expression. The whole affair had not escaped Thalia's attention, and she now stared at her two friends, amusement evident in her eyes. Though as much as she wanted to, she would not instigate anything. She would simply let nature take its course.

Following the host to their table, the four quickly scanned their menus. Unsurprisingly, Percy ordered seafood, while Grover ordered a salad with grapes. Thalia ordered some kind of game, burnt nearly to a crisp. Annabeth decided to order a simple pasta plate. She had been addicted to spaghetti for as long as she could remember.

"So, Percy, Grover, what sport do you two compete in?" Annabeth asked conversationally as their drinks arrived. Percy, oddly enough, had requested blue food coloring in his. However, Annabeth was really in no place to say anything about odd quirks and habits of others, considering some of her own.

"Competitive swimming." The two boys answered simultaneously, and then grinned widely at each other. A small smile played on Annabeth's face. Suddenly, something clicked in Annabeth's mind. "Wait a minute, you're Percy Jackson!" The Olympic swimmer who was aiming to snag every gold medal in his competition. Just like Annabeth. However, she didn't resent him for his goals, only respected him for setting the bar so high.

As she turned this newly revealed information over in her mind, something occurred to her. This was the swimmer from New York that Thalia was not involved with. She had said it herself. This was Thalia's frienemy!

A brilliant smile lit up Annabeth's face, causing the group to give her odd looks, especially Thalia. "Uh, yeah, that's me. The one with the goals for gold." Percy gave her a heart stopping smile. Annabeth had to wonder if he knew the affect he must have on females. Surely he did, it was blatantly obvious. Although he didn't always seem to be the most attuned to people. He seemed like the type of guy who would fall in love with a girl at the age of twelve, and then not realize it until four years later. But those types of relationships only lasted in books.

"Yeah, that's me. So what about you Anna Sophos? What sport do you compete in?" Annabeth opened her mouth to try and explain once again that her name was in fact, Annabeth, not Anna, but Thalia interjected before she had the chance. "She does gymnastics. She's really good too, though not nearly as good as me."

Grover and Percy snickered, as Annabeth faked a glare and punched Thalia's arm. "Hey now. We should be past the trash talk at this point!" Grover and Percy smiled at the two girls. They reminded them so much of themselves it wasn't even funny.

But the really funny thing was the fact that they had all met each other less than two hours ago. Sure, Grover knew Percy, and they both knew Thalia before, who knew Annabeth a long time ago, but they had all been together for the first time a few hours ago.

And yet, should someone pass by the window they were sitting by, they would easily suspect that the four had been friends for their entire lives.

**A/N: I leave you with a little bit of fluff to offer an apology for not updating in the past two days! Starting next week, the updates will not be as frequent, so I will try to write and post as much as possible these next few days! Also, I would like to give a huge shout-out to the forty-two people who have reviewed my story! I was shocked at the number of reviews, to be honest I hadn't checked that often, considering it's only four chapters so far! I will be trying to respond to every reviewer over the next few days, so I apologize for any delays. **

**Also, on the subject of Drew vs. Rachel, I have come to a decision. Based on the progress and response this story has received so far, I am highly considering writing a sequel about Heroes of Olympus, taking place during the Winter Olympics. It's nothing definite yet, but because it's a possibility, I don't want to drag any HoO characters into this story. However, there will still be a jealous ex-girlfriend and a kooky ex-crush. **


	6. Chapter 6

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate pictures?"

Percy smiled at Anna, who was currently muttering to Thalia. "Why?" Percy asked, genuinely curious. Anna was certainly a beautiful girl, she had to be photogenic, there was no possible way she wasn't. However, when he had asked that question, he was sure he would receive the same standard answer. 'I look awful in them'.

The answer he received was nothing like that. "Pictures are just a tool for vanity." Anna said, however, Percy got the feeling like she was about to delve into a long winded lecture of why pictures deserved to be despised. "They are for others to look at and admire. But pictures only capture the physical aspects, none of the emotional or intellectual. When people send pictures to relatives, they're sending images of what they look like over the years, not who they're evolving into."

"Okay, we get it Artemis, you're against vanity. Let's move on from this discussion." Thalia said quickly, trying to cut Anna off from a long lecture. "Artemis?" Percy asked, slightly confused at the analogy. Thalia brightened, and Percy got the feeling like Artemis was a favorite subject of hers.

"Yeah, Lady Artemis, one of the Olympian goddesses. Daughter of Zeus, twin sister of Apollo, goddess of the hunt. My sister and brother were named after the twins. Anyways, Artemis swore to be a maiden forever. She was all about women's rights."

"Anyways, point is, I hate taking pictures." Anna said, summing up the lecture she had been cut off from. "Don't let Silena hear you talking like that." Thalia muttered. Anna blanched, and Percy couldn't help but wonder why. However, for once, Grover seemed to be more in the loop than he was. "Silena Beauregard?" He asked, sounding almost hopeful. "The rhythmic gymnast? One of the most beautiful girls in the entire world?"

Percy had to disagree with that. He had never met this Silena character, but from where he was standing, she certainly wasn't the prettiest gymnast. Though before today he had only known Thalia, he had suddenly developed a preference towards blondes.

"Yep that's Lena. She's one of our closest friends. She's also dating the Olympic weightlifter Charles Beckendorf. And she's best friends with Beckendorf's cousin, female weightlifter, Clarisse La Rue. So if I were you, I'd pick my women a little better Grover."

Percy smiled, and patted his depressed friend on the back. "No worries G-man. There's always the female divers." Grover perked up, and suddenly a wicked gleam appeared in his eye. "Like Cal?" He asked deviously, waiting on edge for Percy's reaction.

The taller boy blanched. "Oh yeah, she's all yours." Unfortunately, much to Percy's chagrin, the exchange between the two swimmers had caught the girls' interest. "Who's Cal?" Thalia asked, glancing at Anna for some reason. Percy noticed that Anna was looking anywhere but at him. He wondered why, but chose not to comment.

"Percy's ex-girlfriend." Grover said wickedly, smiling a large grin that made Percy want to smack the back of his head. Which he proceeded to do. Ignoring Grover's complaints, Percy began to explain. "Last year, I was in an accident. I landed myself in the hospital, sharing a room with Calypso Daveed. We started talking, and ended up going out. We dated for a while, but it just didn't work out." Percy didn't go into full detail, rather he barely skimmed the surface of their relationship. However he had since moved on, and he really didn't want to go into all of it in front of Anna.

Speaking of the blonde, she seemed to be analyzing him, and Percy felt the need to justify himself, though for what, he had no idea. "She was really sweet to me, but way too jealous. She had been cooped up all her life, only getting out to dive. When her dad said grounded for life, he meant it. So when she finally got off restriction, and was allowed to date me, she got crazy possessive."

"Try just crazy." Grover muttered. Once again, Percy rolled his sea green eyes, and smacked Grover upside the head. "If she's so crazy than why did you say she was the hottest girl you ever met?" He asked Grover. Suddenly realizing the hole he had dug himself into when he saw Anna's grey eyes flash dangerously, he muttered, "Not that she has anything on you," more to himself than to Anna.

However, just to his luck, Thalia and Grover evidently heard. Grover's jaw dropped, while Thalia's electric blue eyes widened. Anna, who had turned around, saw their reactions. "What?" She asked them, thinking she had done something to merit the surprised expressions. Percy breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't heard him.

For some reason, he wanted to take things slow for the moment. He had met Anna a few hours ago, yet it felt like he had known her for years. They had both easily slipped into a comfortable relationship, bantering back and forth, and doing the occasional light flirting. However he didn't want to just ask her out, after knowing her for less than six hours. He didn't want her getting the wrong impression about him. Slow and steady would win him this race.

Realizing that he had spaced out, he looked up to find Thalia and Grover staring at him. "What?" He asked, confused at why they were looking at him like that. Suddenly realizing the absence of another, he frowned, and asked, "Where's Anna?"

Thalia simply raised an eyebrow at him, but Grover was helpful, and actually answered him. "She went over there to check the lists of when and where we take our pictures." Percy nodded. That made sense. However, what didn't make sense was the frantic beating of his heart when he realized Anna was gone. That was ridiculous. He obviously needed to get a grip, considering he had met her _six hours ago._

Pushing her way out of the mob, Anna returned, her curls slightly awry. Taking a deep breath, she spoke to the rest of the group. "Apparently gymnasts take their pictures just before the swimmers, and we're all in the same place. Divers take their pictures after the swimmers, so head's up there Percy." The dark haired swimmer smiled at her gratefully. She was just brilliant. Who else would think to check if his ex-girlfriend would cross his path?

Suddenly his face dropped. His ex-girlfriend would cross his path. Percy groaned, and buried his face in his hands. Grover patted his back consolingly. "Don't worry Seaweed Brain, we'll be there guarding you from your big bad girlfriend." Anna said in a babying voice. Oddly enough, even though she chose to use Thalia's despicable nickname, Percy really didn't mind it coming from her lips. It was rather endearing.

"_Ex_-girlfriend." Percy corrected, placing emphasis on the 'ex'. After he said that, Anna smiled brightly at him. It may have just been the light, but he could have sworn that she literally brightened. "Right, well we all have to go and change. Our uniforms are with our coaches."

Both Grover and Percy groaned simultaneously. That meant they would have to face Poseidon. However, they were in luck, because Connor Stoll came up to them, wearing a disgruntled expression, and carrying their uniforms.

"You know, this is really degrading." Connor complained. "Being demoted down to intern status. I mean come on! I'm older than Travis, and yet he has a higher position than I do! You would think that I'm just the U.S.O.C's personal deliverer or something. Who do I look like, Hermes?"

Grover and Percy snickered, and took their uniforms with a quick thanks. However, Connor wasn't done yet. He had noticed Anna standing discreetly by Thalia. "Oho, what do we have here?" He asked in a flirtatious tone that made Percy bristle. "Annie, been far too long since I've seen you last! How have you been? Still breaking the poor boys' hearts?"

Percy expected Anna to roll her eyes, and shrug off Connor's attention, a habit she seemed to be keen upon. What he did not expect was for her to blush furiously. "You know, you've tried on two of my kin for size, but neither have been the right fit. So what do you say to going to the Olympic mixer with me? You know what they say, third time's the charm, and honestly, I'm more charming than either of my brothers."

"Buzz off Stoll, before I electrocute you." Thalia snarled. No one embarrassed her friend expect for her. Connor simply raised his eyebrow at her hostility, but left nonetheless. However, his suggestive wink towards Anna had Percy steaming at the ears.

Thalia however, was deep in thought. Anna was glancing nervously at her best friend, and as if reading her mind, she blushed a deeper red. Suddenly, the dark haired gymnast gasped loudly. "YOU DATED TRAVIS STOLL!" She cried at the top of her lungs, causing Anna's eyes to widen and her face to go scarlet.

"Thalia! Will you please lower your voice?" Anna begged desperately. However, Percy noted that she didn't deny the accusation. Which meant it was true. Percy's green eyes narrowed. He knew all about the Stoll brothers. They were both kleptomaniacs, and huge pranksters. Both worked for the USOC, and were huge players. The thought of Anna dating one of them, or worse, both of them, was something from Percy's worst nightmares that occurred only in the past few hours.

Though Thalia shut her mouth, Percy could practically see the gears turning in her head. "Wait a minute, Connor said you dated two of his brothers. But if you didn't date him then who…NO!" Thalia gasped out, her eyes wide. Anna's grey eyes darted around, and rested on Percy's stormy green ones. He was mad, and he knew she could tell.

Yet he could see the desperation in her eyes, as if she wanted to explain. But she shouldn't have to. They had known each other only a short while, and did he honestly think someone as gorgeous as that had never dated? Everyone broke the no dating rules, why should he expect Anna to be any exception?

"Look Thals, we'll talk about this in the dressing rooms. You boys go change, we'll meet you in the auditorium in a half hour." Though she was several inches shorter than Thalia, Percy watched as Anna dragged the taller girl off, ignoring her persistent questioning.

"She's right. Come on G-man, we'd better go change." Grover was staring at where the pair had been only a second ago, with a confused expression on his face. "Why do they need a half hour? It should take about five minutes!" Percy laughed out loud, causing several people to look his way. "Come on G-man, don't you remember? Even Thalia needs a while, and she hates all that girly stuff. Gymnasts have to do their hair, and wear make-up and crap like that."

Personally, Percy thought Annabeth didn't need anything, but he was excited to see her in the dramatic make-up he knew was regulation for the gymnastics pictures. He had detected only the barest traces of make-up over her nearly flawless skin, and judging by those unique, stormy grey eyes, someone would definitely do something to make her eyes stand out. Calypso had been a make-up freak, often going overboard, so much to Percy's chagrin, he had picked up a few things to add to his database of useless and humiliating knowledge. It was larger than one might think.

Hurriedly changing into his swim trunks, Percy grabbed the red white and blue jacket that had been hanging on the hanger. He made as if to zip up the jacket, before finding there was no zipper. Glancing at himself in the long mirror, he realized that a sliver of his chest was visible, obviously the desired effect. Percy was rather uncomfortable with it. He didn't have a problem diving into a pool wearing nothing but Speedos in front of the entire world, but that was during a competition. He didn't much fancy going around like this. However, it was something he had to deal with, and deal with it he would.

Finding Grover, the two of them made their way to the waiting area, and stood around until the girls arrived, ten minutes later. Seeing his two friends, one in particular made Percy's jaw drop. There was no way the USOC was planning to have them wear those leotards in any competition. They had been clearly made for pictures only, and clearly made for sex appeal.

The leotard was a glittery red, with a blue star with three white stripes extending out from it. It was long sleeved, but it left the shoulders and back bare, and the sleeves were made out of some shimmery, see through material. It was entirely sensual, and the person in the leotard did nothing to help.

Anna's hair was tied into a messy bun behind her left ear, however her hair didn't seem to be cooperating. Several tendrils were falling along her face, framing her delicate features, making Percy's throat go dry. He had been right to assume that somebody would insist upon decorating her eyes. Though she wasn't caked in make-up, her skin seemed to glow, while her eyes were framed with thin black lines, and her purple glittery eye-shadow along her eye lids made her grey eyes her most noticeable feature.

Thalia too looked stunning, with most of her heavy make-up washed off, leaving just a slight smoky eye effect around her eyes. And someone had obviously wrestled her short, choppy hair into a small ponytail. With the shorter lairs, somebody-obviously someone with expert fingers-had made two braids that crowned her dark head.

Thalia looked thoroughly disgruntled, while Anna simply looked distracted. "Oh hey Percy, Grover. Zip up your jackets will you? That's hardly appropriate." It might have just been Percy's imagination, but he could have sworn she was blushing when she glanced at the strip of bare chest that his jacket revealed. He smirked, and decided to tease her a little. "Like what you see?" He asked.

Anna's eyes widened, and Percy nearly fell back. He hadn't thought her eyes could get any wider or prettier, but he was wrong. "I just don't think you guys should go around like that." Grover snorted. "Actually, our jackets don't zip up. Anyways, you're one to talk. Will you two be posing for Playboy anytime soon? You already have a fan group."

Percy snapped his head up, and immediately noticed some younger, and older, guys glancing at both Thalia and Anna appreciatively. Not so much Thalia though. Not because she was any less of a knockout, but simply because she exuded confidence and danger. Only the daring were attracted. However, Anna was gorgeous, and seemingly innocent with her halo of blonde curls.

Clearly on the same page, both Grover and Percy sent the gaggle glares, telling them to back off. They were met with a few glares, but it was made clear that the two girls were only interested in talking to their friends, quickly dismissing anyone else who came up to talk to them.

Percy turned to Anna, and quietly said, "Just to let you know, you really look stunning." He saw Anna's cheeks color beautifully, and she opened her mouth to respond. However, the voice he heard was not Anna's, but one he hadn't heard in a while, and had been eager to keep it that way.

"Oh thank you Percy! You look quite sexy yourself. Though not everyone has been as lucky as me to see you without your shirt, this provides quite a nice view."

Percy groaned, and turned to the source of all his nightmares, Calypso Daveed.

**A/N: Dun, dun DUN! Okay, mini cliffhanger there! This has been my longest chapter yet, and I'm on a roll here so I might update again today! Fo sho I'll be updating tomorrow, and I'll definitely update my other story, An Exchange of Leaders within today and tomorrow. So now you know who Percy's ex is! I always thought that Calypso wasn't tapped into enough during the series, so I'm doing it now. Though, since she wasn't written about too much, I have basic freedom with her! I'll try to keep her sweet and loving with Percy as to have her remain IC, but jealous and spiteful towards others.**

**On the IC/OOC note, I received a PM yesterday, saying that I was not keeping Percy or Annabeth in character, and having them fall in love too quickly. I am sorry if I've been writing them OOC, but in some aspects, I'm prepared to defend it, because it goes along with the same line of why they're falling in love so quickly. In this fic, they have never met before. They are meeting when Percy is sixteen going on seventeen, and Anna is fifteen going on sixteen. They didn't have to go through the whole awkward pubescent, falling for my best friend stage. They met when they are teenagers with raging hormones, and they're obviously physically attracted to one another. So I apologize if it seems like it's going too fast, but that's just how I'm writing them as teenagers. **


	7. Chapter 7

Annabeth didn't know why, but a fiery explosion erupted in the pit of her stomach, as soon as she saw the girl wrapping her arm around Percy's toned waist. And what she was insinuating, well, it made Annabeth sick. She knew why, and she didn't like it. She was jealous. Annabeth Chase, the USA gymnastics National Champion, queen of dedication and focus, was jealous. Of some trampy, jealous, apparently crazy, ex-girlfriend of a guy she had known for six hours.

It was safe to say that Annabeth had hit a low. She noticed Percy glancing at her nervously, as if he expected her to burst into tears, or suddenly start yelling at him. Annabeth did neither of these things, keeping her face impassive. However, the guilty glances were an indication that Percy felt guilty. And there was only one reason why he would feel guilty, and it scared Annabeth to death.

Percy quickly shrugged out of the diver's grasp, and Annabeth breathed a little easier when he did. Turning to her, Annabeth saw a mask of irritation evident across his face. "Calypso, what are you doing here?" He asked bluntly, in a tone that indicated he obviously did not want her there.

The girl looked surprised, and Annabeth took the time to appraise her. She was definitely pretty, gorgeous actually. She had rich tanned skin, the color of rich caramel, as if she spent all her days lounging on a beach. Annabeth snorted in the confines of her mind. If that was the case, then she'd be likely to get skin cancer. Calypso's hair was a rich chocolate brown with blonde highlights, matching her eyes perfectly. Her hair was currently tied up into a pony-tail, and her swimsuit was a modest one-piece, but she managed to make Annabeth look like a middle school girl when standing next to her. How Percy could even hold the two in comparison was beyond Annabeth.

Evidently, Calypso was wondering the same thing, glancing between Percy and Annabeth, as if asking what the Hades was going on between them. Realizing the tension in the air, Percy reached his arm up behind his neck, and rubbed the back of his head. Annabeth had already picked up on the fact that this was a surefire indication that Percy was uncomfortable. And currently it was making Annabeth uncomfortable, considering it lifted his jacket a little higher, giving both Annabeth and Calypso better views of his well developed chest.

Realizing this as well, Percy flushed, and quickly dropped his arm. It also brought his attention to a previous statement that Calypso had uttered, one which he was quick to address. "And actually Calypso, the whole world has seen me without a shirt. I'm a swimmer, none of the guys wear shirts in a swimming competition. Don't make it sound like it's anything more than it really was."

The petite diver raised her delicate eyebrows, and then frowned in confusion. "I didn't mean to make it sound like it was anything other than that. I'm here for pictures too Percy. What's with all this Calypso nonsense by the way? I've always been Cal to you."

Percy rolled his eyes, and Annabeth had to hold back a smirk. "Yeah, well that was when we were dating. If I recall correctly, I ended things last year when I found out you had lied to me about everything."

Annabeth's good mood plummeted. Percy had broken things off with his girlfriend because she had lied to him? Obviously honesty was something he prized. However, Annabeth reassured herself with the fact that she wasn't technically lying to him. To her mom and to Thalia, she was Anna. With the exception of her mother, she allowed people close to her heart to nickname her. She hadn't lied to Percy, and besides, it wasn't as if he would despise her for being Annabeth. She was confident in the fact that he would like her all the same.

Calypso pouted, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Percy obviously noted, and another guilty expression crossed his handsome face. "And when I said 'you look stunning' I was talking to Anna." Percy told Calypso, though his eyes never left Annabeth's grey ones.

Once again, Annabeth blushed. She hadn't turned as red as she had when he first said it, thank the gods because she looked like an ugly tomato, but she still flushed. Percy smiled softly, as if it made her look pretty, which Annabeth knew it didn't. She didn't know why she was blushing, he had said it to her only moments before. But Calypso had taken away from the moment, stealing the compliment, as if it were meant for her.

"Thank you." Annabeth said softly, meeting Percy's eyes. She wasn't afraid to look a person in their eyes, especially Percy. His eyes were such a gorgeous sea green. The seemed to change with his emotions, turning darker or lighter. The hormonal part of Annabeth couldn't help but wonder what they would look like, should they be full of lust. Annabeth had never really seen that look in a guy. Not when looking at her anyways. Though her taste in men had proven to be bad, the two times before this.

Percy smiled gently in return, his gaze full of kindness and some other emotion that Annabeth didn't dare name. The two seemed to be encased in each other, and absentmindedly, Percy reached up, and gently pushed a blonde curl behind Annabeth's ear. His hand lingered on her skin just a moment longer than necessary, and Annabeth couldn't help but shiver at the contact. He had brushed against a sensitive spot, and it sent tingles running up and down her body.

She felt her skin burning, and she knew she had to look as red as a tomato. A fact that Calypso was quick to pick up on. "Alright there Ally? You look rather like a beet at the moment." Annabeth flushed a darker red, a combination of anger and embarrassment. However, it would not do to pick a fight, especially not with Percy's ex-girlfriend.

She clenched her fists, and looked at the ground, but not before she saw Percy's eyes darken with anger. However, before he could say anything, Thalia beat him to it. "Well at least it shows she's human. And it could be worse, she could be in your position, looking like a bitch."

The dainty girl gasped, and Annabeth let out an unladylike snort. Percy snapped his head towards her, and a relieved look passed over his face, as if he was glad she was not crying in a corner. Annabeth simply raised an eyebrow, as if to say, 'I'm better than that'. She certainly was above fickle things like tears. However, it seemed that the same could not be said for Calypso.

Tears started leaking out of her caramel brown eyes, making them look wider and rather prettier. However, if the boys thought so, neither of them commented. Percy just rolled his eyes, and while it was rather insensitive, Annabeth really didn't mind, given the person and the scenario.

"Oh no, don't start crying." Percy said bluntly. Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. Though the words could be taken out of context, Percy did not speak lovingly, as if he actually cared about why she was crying, rather he spoke like any teenage male confronted with tears. Especially coming from an ex-girlfriend who refused to take a hint, it was particularly annoying.

Calypso glared at Annabeth, and opened her mouth as if to issue another rude comment, but she was cut off by a U.S.O.C. official coming out of the auditorium and shouting, "All members of the USA Gymnastics Team please report to the auditorium immediately!"

Thalia smirked. "Hate to abandon this little love fest, but that's our cue. Peace suckers." And with that, Thalia made her dramatic exit, retaining her dangerous edge that made Annabeth love her so. The blonde chose to take a less theatrical route, simply saying, "Well, I'll see you two in a few minutes. Try not to commit too many murders."

"No promises." Both Grover and Percy chimed in at once, and Annabeth laughed. Seeing Calypso's glare out of the corner of her eye, she decided to add salt to the wound, by leaning in and hugging Percy briefly. As much as she wanted to relish the feeling of her body pressed against his, she muttered softly in his ear, "Be good." She felt him shiver, and she smiled inside her head, loving the fact that she could make him shiver as well.

She blatantly ignored Grover's pointed smirk, and walked after Thalia, heading into the auditorium where she would await her doom.

It actually wasn't that bad. Sure, they took dozens of pictures, and Annabeth had to take twice as many, being the National Champion, but it actually turned out to be fun. The photographer was fairly young, and she just loved the appeal that Thalia and Annabeth had, practically forcing the two to do a photo shoot. She had assured the gymnasts that it would appear in several magazines, but neither of them cared.

As soon as the photos were over, Annabeth and Thalia proceeded to change quickly, and wait for the boys. Thalia quickly grew tired of the waiting game, and decided to go look for the list of rooms. Annabeth was nervous about being left alone, but Calypso was nowhere in sight. A few minutes later, both Percy and Grover emerged from the dressing rooms.

Grover made some excuse about finding enchiladas, leaving Percy and Annabeth alone, a fact Annabeth was slightly nervous about. She noticed that both she and Percy had changed from their original clothes. Percy was looking even better than before with a button up shirt, unbuttoned of course, with the sleeves rolled up, allowing Annabeth to appreciate his well muscled arms.

"So how did the pictures of death go?" Percy asked Annabeth teasingly. "Not bad. It would have been better if you were there." Annabeth said flirtatiously. Percy leaned in rather close, and opened his mouth as if to response, but he was interrupted by Thalia.

"Anna! We've got a problem!"

"What?" Annabeth asked irritably. She was not pleased that Thalia had cut Percy off. "I found our room list. We're rooming with Lena and…"

"Yes?" Annabeth probed, wondering who could be so bad.

"And Calypso Daveed."

**A/N: Whoo! Two updates in three hours, I think that's my record! I apologize for how rushed this chapter was, but it was a filler, and I wanted to get it done. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Pretty swanky."

The four were once again in Anna's silver car, currently pulling up into the hotel. All Olympic athletes would be staying in the Olympus Hotel, one of the finest in the world. They'd be staying at the same chain in Athens, though whether it was an Olympus, or possibly an Atlantis was still being debated among the athletes.

"Yeah, it's amazing. The architecture is stunning. It's completely modeled after-"

"Hey Anna?" Thalia called from her position in the backseat that she had lost to Percy once again. "Yeah?" Anna asked, turning to look back at her friend. "Shut up."

Percy glanced at the blonde beside him. She had consented to Thalia's wishes, but he could have sworn he'd seen a flicker of hurt pass over her eyes. He knew firsthand that Thalia could be a little overbearing. She tended to steamroll over whatever she didn't like, and that included her friends' feelings sometimes.

"So you like architecture?" Percy asked Anna softly, making sure that Thalia and Grover couldn't hear. The blonde beside him pursed her lips, but nodded. "Yeah, I actually love it." She admitted softly. Based on her volume, and Thalia's previous reaction, Percy guessed that he was the first person she had confided in, something that made him extremely happy.

"So what do you love about it?" Percy asked, genuinely curious. Anna turned her head, and gave him a curious look. "You like architecture?" She asked, confusion and disbelief tainting her tone. "Well… no, but I know it makes you happy, and I get the feeling no one has ever questioned you about it. So, Anna Sophos, why do you love architecture so much?"

It seemed that Percy's willingness to listen lighted a spark within Anna. "It's just, when people build things, they're creating something permanent. Nothing in my life has ever been like that before. Even my sport, everything depends on something else. If I lose a pound, all of my skills have to be adjusted. If I fall, I might never compete again. But with building, I could design something permanent. I could improve so many things."

Percy didn't know much about architecture, but he understood what Anna was talking about. He couldn't say that he had ever had the same desire, but he sympathized with the reasoning behind her love of architecture. It certainly reinforced his earlier thoughts about beauty and brains. Though he doubted any Olympian could survive with simply beauty. Even Calypso was smart, in a devious manner.

Speaking of which… "Look, I'm really sorry about Calypso you guys." Percy said, now speaking to Thalia as well. "If she does anything, just let me know. I'd say she's not that bad, but-"

"But that would be a lie?" Grover interjected. Percy twisted around to glare at his best friend. "But you both kind of made her blacklist. But hey, Silena is your friend, right? So it'll be three against one, I'm sure you'll be fine." Normally Calypso would be fine with those odds, but Thalia and Anna were not normal girls.

He remembered a time when Calypso had been Cal, sweet, kind and caring. She had been just the kind of girl Percy wanted to spend his life with. She was beautiful, inside and out. She had spent her life basically imprisoned by her father, so when Percy finally convinced him to allow him to date Cal, Percy had thought everything would be perfect from there.

Unfortunately, freedom changed Cal. She suddenly became all about what she could have, and started reaching for goals she had never cared about before. And then when Percy found out that Calypso was basically selling their relationship, telling the media things that should have stayed between them, it was the last straw for Percy. He had never wanted the fame, in fact he hated it. So he had cut his ties with Cal, and tried to move on, even though his broken heart had ached painfully. He had thrown it all into a relationship that turned out to be nothing more than a trophy for Calypso.

Percy sighed, and his thoughts absentmindedly turned to Rachel Elizabeth Dare. He smiled, thinking to himself. He had liked the girl for several months, but it had never turned into anything real. She was unique, and so refreshingly normal. She was just an art student in New York, not an athlete of any sort. In fact, she had paid serious cash to some doctor to have a note to get out of gym class. Percy loved hanging out with her. She was a journalist, and a PR student, but she knew how to keep their life private.

Percy still felt some pangs of longing for her, and he had shared a meaningful kiss with her before, but suddenly, with Anna next to him, he forgot what Rachel ever was to him. To be quite honest, Anna was scaring him a little. He didn't understand how he could fall this hard, this quickly for a girl. He supposed they were just two of those people who instantly 'clicked'.

He knew she felt it too. It was just undeniable, the attraction between them. Percy was hardly shallow, but he wasn't stupid either. He knew that they were both attractive, but more than that, they connected. They exchanged playful banter, and Percy found that he genuinely cared about Anna.

Percy was startled out of his thoughts by two cell phones going off. Both Thalia and Anna reached for their iPhones, having received a text. Almost acting as if they were parts of the same body, they uttered a profanity at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, hoping the two girls were okay. "We have practice." Anna answered, her face white. Percy frowned. "Why is that bad?" Thalia gulped, looking scared for the first time Percy had ever seen her. "In thirty minutes." Anna said nervously, quickly finding a parking spot.

Still, Percy and Grover did not understand the issue. "So? Thirty minutes is more than enough time." Grover said flippantly. Apparently it was the wrong thing to say. Both girls seemed to crackle with electric anger.

"More than enough time? Grover, thirty minutes is barely sufficient warm-up time!" Anna cried distressed. "Thankfully practice is only five minutes away, but we have to unpack, and-"

"Leave that to us." Percy interjected. The other three glanced at him curiously. "Well you girls can't be late! Grover and I will take your luggage up to your room, and you guys head over to your practice. Is it an open practice?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, actually most of the other athletes will show up." Percy grinned. "Great, just give us directions, and we'll catch a cab." Anna grabbed his hand, and Percy's stomach did somersaults worthy of an Olympic gymnast, but unfortunately, he realized the contact was only so that Anna could write down the address.

As the girls drove off, Percy caught Grover smirking at him from the corner of his eye. "What?" He asked, avoiding his friend's eye. He already knew the answer. "Dude, you've known her for six hours, and you're already so whipped." And with that, Percy grabbed Grover's shaggy head, and pulled him down, fully intending to give him the noogie of a lifetime.

**A/N: Okay, kind of a short chapter, but it's another filler. I am currently doing a happy dance at the moment, for three updates in one day! Success! I will try my hardest to update twice tomorrow, because the next two chapters will be full of fluff and drama! And for all of you who are hoping for Percy to find out who Annabeth really is, it will be coming soon, I promise!**

**And for all those who wonder why I update so fast, here are my answers. A) I have no life B) My father took away my Christmas gift, NCIS on DVD Seasons 1-7 and C) I'm seeing my family who I haven't seen in a year and a half. Of course I'm reminded of why I go to school abroad, and I'm spending all my time avoiding them :P**


	9. Chapter 9

"Come on G-man!"

Percy was sprinting across the gym parking lot, once again impatiently waiting for his friend to catch up. He wasn't oblivious to the parallel drawn between now, and yesterday evening when they had been eager to catch their plane. However, today's difference was what was waiting for them at the end. Personally Percy was much more excited to see a beautiful sexy girl perform outstanding tricks in her element, than hop into a hunk of hollow metal.

"I'm coming Perce. Geez, this girl has really got you wound up tight. You do realize she's only fifteen right? And you're going on seventeen?" Percy frowned. "So? She's going on sixteen, we're only a year and a half apart." Grover shrugged. "I'm just saying man, if you're falling for an Olympic athlete, age differences will be the least of your problems."

Percy immediately felt his face flush. "Wh-? Falling? For her?...you're crazy dude." However, his mumbled blustering didn't do anything to deter Grover, in fact, it just made the swimmer grin wider. "Uh huh, sure I believe that. You two have only been flirting like crazy for the past six hours. Come on man, don't bother trying to lie to me. You can fool yourself and Thalia, but never me. And I know what I'm talking about. You've never been this flirtatious and charming, not even during the Golden Days of Calypso, or the days of Rachel."

The dark haired boy twitched at the mention of the redhead from his past. "Oh yeah, I forgot about Rach. I heard she's going to be at the Olympics, she's now Apollo Grace's public relations person, or something to that affect." Lost in his daydreams about the former object of his affection, he was barely aware of Grover snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"What?" He asked, seeing the look of concern on his best friend's face. "You're not- you aren't still attracted to Rachel, are you?" Grover asked hesitantly. Percy and Rachel had flirted for quite a long time, and gone out on a few dates, but they had never become official. Percy had relished the normalcy Rachel brought, and had wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend. Then she chose to work for Apollo, and she had moved. Grover had assumed that Percy was still hung up on Rachel, but today, with Anna, Grover was having his doubts.

Percy sighed. "Look, I'll probably always be attracted to Rachel. She's pretty and quirky, and she's not training for some crazy competition that ruins people's lives and creates their dreams. But she chose to leave, and honestly, after meeting Anna today, I just don't think there's anything left between me and Rachel."

Grover smirked. Not only did Percy's statement assuage his fears, but it also proved, that against Percy's will or knowledge, he was falling head over heels for this girl. And Grover could only assume that Anna was doing the same, considering the obvious chemistry that had appeared between the two earlier in the day.

"Now let's go! Thalia and Anna will kill us if we're late!"

Stepping into the spacious gym, Percy was met with extraordinary sights. He saw girls running at incredible speeds and then flipping in the air, off of some sort of springboard, while others were doing things that shouldn't even be possible on a four inch block of wood, suspended a few feet from the ground.

Percy wanted to look for Anna, but he decided he ought to find a seat first. "Hey Percy, look, there's Beckendorf." Grover pointed out, obviously all previous animosity towards the weightlifter dissipated. Percy and Grover made their way over to the athlete, and greeted their old friend.

"You two came as well?" Beckendorf questioned, a little surprised to see the swimmers there. Grover nodded. "Yeah, we've got some friends, Thalia and Anna. Are you here for Silena?" Percy was glad there wasn't a trace of bitterness in Grover's voice when he questioned about the weightlifter's girlfriend. He seemed to have accepted there was no chance.

"Anna?" Beckendorf asked, momentarily confused. "Oh, Anna! Wow, you guys must be close then. She doesn't really socialize all that much. But yeah, June and I came to see Silena." Though Percy was dying to question Beckendorf what he meant about Anna not being a socialite, Grover focused on the second half of Beckendorf's statement.

"June?" He asked, and with that statement, a tiny wisp of a girl peeked out from behind Charles' large body. "Hey, I'm Juniper. Field and track." Grover gaped at her, not even ashamed. Percy couldn't help but roll his eyes. Juniper was pretty enough, he supposed, but when he had friends like Anna, well, no one could really compare.

Speaking of Anna, he finally found her, by a tub of chalk, rubbing it all over her hands. From what little knowledge he had regarding gymnastics, he knew that she would most likely be going on the beam or bars next. And honestly, he was excited to see her perform period, no matter what apparatus she was practicing on.

Looking around the gym, Percy decided to try and find Annabeth Chase. It was a rather difficult task, considering that he had no idea what she looked like. And unfortunately, his mental image didn't match any of the present girls. They were all rather pretty, though Anna outshone them all. He was about to ask Beckendorf, when he overheard an offhand comment he made to Juniper and Grover.

"Luke Castellan isn't here, which is why half of the female athletes already left. Something about his coach wanting to train him in private. He's expected to take home most of the golds in Athens, especially the All-Around."

It made sense in Percy's mind. The coach had obviously wanted the National Champions to have a private practice session. He remembered hearing that Luke had won gold at nationals. He was happy for his friend, he seemed like a nice enough dude. Figuring that Annabeth Chase was with Castellan, Percy turned all of his attention on Anna Sophos, who was now preparing to practice on the uneven bars.

"Now this is something worth watching." He heard Beckendorf mutter to Juniper. And watch was exactly what Percy intended to do. He watched in awe as Anna flipped onto the lower bar, unlike everyone else, who had simply hopped onto it. As he watched the beautiful blonde, he saw her practically fly through the air, flipping and twisting as she reached the other bar.

Percy didn't know the name of any of the tricks Anna did, but he knew they were amazing, and based on some of the envious, covetous looks other gymnasts were sending Anna's way, they were difficult, things that only the best could do. So why wasn't Anna the national champion? Why Chase? Something about that question seemed to click into place, but Percy wasn't sure what. All he knew, was that somehow, he was sure Anna and Chase were connected, he just wasn't sure how. But he wasn't going to focus on that. He was going to focus on the beautiful girl who had now dismounted the bars, and was grinning widely.

At the coach's orders, she moved from apparatus to apparatus, doing things that no other gymnast could imitate, though others did try, and projected it poorly. Percy enjoyed watching Anna outperform everyone, even though he couldn't quite place his finger on why that was. All he knew was he felt a sense of pride, every time she accomplished some amazing feat, and every time she threw herself into the air, he felt a tingle of fear, emitting from the small of his back.

When practice was finally over, Percy made his way over to Anna, leaving Grover behind to talk to Juniper. Percy waited patiently as some of the other athletes came and talked to Anna, congratulating her, and occasionally hugging her. He felt ferociously jealous and protective anytime a male would approach her.

Anna noticed Percy out of the corner of her eye, and to his bliss, a brilliant smile lit up her face. He did that. He made her smile like that. Anna hurried the other athletes along, and before long, he was the only one facing her.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he shot her a crooked grin, to which she replied with a large smile. "You were…um, well…you were really amazing." Percy admitted, ducking his head to hide his blush. He wasn't sure why he was blushing like this. Couldn't he just pay a girl a compliment?

Anna returned the blush, biting her lip rather provocatively. Maybe it was the rising heat in the room, maybe it was the way Anna looked at the moment, or maybe it was just the memories of what Percy had just seen, but something caused him to blurt out the garbled question, "Anna, will you go to tonight's Olympic mixer with me? As my date I mean, not just as a friend?"

Anna's shocked expression had to be a mirror image of what Percy's face looked like, though she hadn't quite gotten around to blushing furiously yet. Her blush was just stunning, slowly creeping up on her face, illuminating her skin.

"Um, well, yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice." Anna said softly, still biting her lip, though Percy suspected this time was to hide a smile. "Great." Percy said, after swallowing. If he had been a part of some sappy TV drama intended for teens, he should be giving a internal spiel about how shocked he was that she said yes, but in all honesty, he wasn't.

Percy Jackson was not some cocky, arrogant Olympic Asslete, as some of the athletes had been named, but he was confident, with a healthy dose of realism, which kept his head on the ground, no matter how much Thalia liked to joke about it floating off at sea. Percy knew he was attractive, in fact, very much so. He wasn't oblivious to the fact, though he never seemed to be able to pick up on girls flirting with him. But he knew that Anna had been doing just that all day, and he was fairly sure they had chemistry. In fact, he was positive. So he wasn't surprised, per se, more ecstatic at his luck than anything.

"How about we meet at the mixer?" Anna asked, her sweet voice bringing Percy out of his profound thoughts. "And we can hang out with each other there as…dates." The red that crept up her neck at the word 'dates' was absolutely radiant, and Percy had the sudden urge to make her blush once more.

"It's a date then."

**A/N: Okay guys, so I've gone back to university, and discovered that updates will be happening once a week, most likely. I might not even be able to update during the week at all, and only on weekends, I'm just not sure. I'm not going to go months without updating, but you will have to wait a week. I might be able to update more than once during the weekends, it all just depends.**

**In other news, one of my lovely reviewers has nominated my story for the Veritas Awards, so thank you so much whoever did that! I'm glad you liked it enough to think it deserved an award!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm not even going to make excuses. I have them, but they aren't good enough. So, I am sincerely sorry for the incredibly long delay. I am also blown away by the people that have stuck with this story, and still reviewed throughout my hiatus! Thank you so much! You guys inspired me to drag out my laptop and start writing again, and I've been rather uninspired to do much of anything lately! Thank you so much for your kind words, and here is your long awaited update!**

"Okay, Thalia, I'm freaking out."

Thalia smirked at her blonde friend, though she felt a slight pang of jealousy. It was only earlier that day that Thalia had learned of Annabeth's relationship with Luke, and that hurt. Apparently it had been going on for two years, despite Luke being three years older than Annabeth. It made Thalia more than a little mad.

And seeing Annabeth like this, well, it just added insult to the injury. She was dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, no makeup, with her long blonde curls wet and hanging around her body. She was stunning, and she had no idea. Luke had hurt her so much, making her think she wasn't worth it. And now she was going to the mixer, she was going ballistic, trying to figure out what to wear.

Thalia didn't quite understand the notion. She was one of the Olympic athletes who actually abided by the no dating rule, but for the most part, she just didn't care. For tonight she had decided to wear a black mini-dress, her shortest one. For Thalia's enjoyment, she purposely was making herself look sexy, just to prove what the boys couldn't have. To be quite honest, none of the boys there really interested her, or they were taken.

Annabeth however, actually had someone to impress, and though while Thalia was fairly sure he was already blown away by her friend, she knew the desperation Annabeth felt to please her. So she decided to resort to desperate measures.

"Lena!" She called, and within moments, the shower stopped. Less than a minute later, Silena left the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her and an irritable expression on her face. "What?" She snapped, obviously agitated by being interrupted in her beauty process.

"Annabeth has a date."

Those words were all Silena needed. Her blue eyes widened, and she shrieked, causing Annabeth to shrink back slightly. "I-It's not what you think." Annabeth said nervously. She had seen Silena in action, and frankly, she was terrifying. However, Silena didn't listen to her protests, instead, she turned her attention to the clothes rack her mother, Aphrodite Love, had sent them.

Considering that Aphrodite was the agent of all three of the girls, and they would be in a public setting, they were only allowed to wear Aphrodite approved clothes, and Silena went to town choosing a dress for Annabeth.

Despite how much Silena wanted to do Annabeth's hair and makeup, the blonde was adamant against it. She knew that her friend would make her look like a beauty queen, and while Annabeth appreciated the help she was offering, she wanted to look as natural as possible. So she resolved to do her own hair and makeup, and when she finished in front of the mirror, she was rather pleased with the overall product. She was about to get changed into her dress, when her hopes were deflated.

"Well, well, well, isn't this cute. The little girls are playing dress up, trying to fit in with the big girls. Annabeth rolled her eyes and turned around to face Calypso. When she did, her stomach plummeted. Calypso looked stunning, wearing a strapless gold dress that barely went to her calves, but accented all of her beautiful features. Annabeth couldn't even compete with that, and Calypso knew it too.

"I just came to get my purse. Don't want to forget that. And something that you don't want to forget, Annabeth Chase, is the fact that Percy was mine first. And I always get what I want."

Annabeth didn't doubt it, as she thought glumly to herself. Calypso left dramatically, leaving bad feelings where her annoying presence had once been. Silena had been watching, and her normally soft and kind face was now hard and determined.

"Screw my mom's dresses. Annabeth, we're going to make you the most beautiful girl at the party."

"She's not coming."

The words were foreign against Percy's ears, the voice familiar but cold. A part of him tried to argue against the voice, but for the most part, his body just shut down. He couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but gape at the beautiful girl in front of him.

"What are you talking about?" He demanded, prepared to pry it from the pretty girl in the gold dress. Calypso looked beautiful, even he wasn't stupid enough to deny that. Her dress set off her skin tone perfectly, and it was just short enough to make his jeans tight. Well, it would have anyways, if a certain blonde had been wearing it. But according to his ex-girlfriend, his date was not coming. And considering the clock had been ticking for the past thirty minutes, it meant that he had been stood up.

"Oh I'm so sure." Grover broke in sarcastically, shaking Percy from his depressed thoughts. He proceeded to drag Percy away, closer to the front door. "Snap out of it Perce!" He said, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "It's Calypso, she's just up to her old tricks."

"Then why isn't she here yet?" Percy asked, desperation tainting the tone of his voice. He couldn't help it, he really liked Anna, and the first date was always the hardest. If he was feeling like this about a girl he had met this morning, then he didn't want to lose her already. He kept telling himself that if he just got through tonight, his future with Anna might turn out to be bright.

"Because, looking like _that_ takes time."

Percy whirled around to where Grover was pointing, and his jaw dropped. If Calypso had failed to make him hard, Anna certainly got the job done, looking like that. Percy was so incredibly grateful that he refused to wear Nico's idea of 'dress clothes' which meant skinny jeans. He did not need to embarrass himself on his first date with the most beautiful girl he had ever met.

Which Anna undoubtedly was. Even in regular clothes, she was stunning, and while Percy loved her curls and certainly appreciated her body, he had to say it was all in her eyes, and how natural her beauty was. She just had this essence about her that made her gorgeous. Thalia and Silena, who were on either side of her, were both stunning, but Percy was immediately drawn to Anna.

Her dress was about the same length as Calypso's, and embroidered with sparkly blue material and stones. He could make out a flower pattern along the dress, but it was unique and beautiful. The blue was darkest at the bottom, gradually getting lighter at the top, until it was practically white across Anna's chest.

Walking towards her, as if in a trance, Percy found himself directly in front of Anna when he managed to stutter out the words, "You look amazing." The blonde blushed, but a small smile crossed over her lips. It was then that Percy noticed she was once again wearing make-up. The eyeliner made her grey eyes pop, and Percy couldn't help but feel that he was getting lost in them, as clichéd as that sounded.

Hearing a familiar voice call out across the din, Percy looked up and winced. Damn, Calypso had found him. Acting on an impulse, Percy-in a very Disney-esque move' grabbed Annabeth's bare elbow and looking deep into her eyes, asked, "Do you trust me?"

Giggling, her answer was coy and teasing. "Why of course _Aladdin_!" She was clearly thinking along the same lines as he was.

Smirking, Percy promptly whisked her away, weaving throughout the throng of dancing people. He had been to a mixer here once before, and thankfully, he knew his way around. He also had the picture of his destination clear in his mind. He could only hope that the air would be a whole lot clearer than it had been last time.

Pulling Anna through a sliding door, Percy shut the glass door, and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. He had led Anna to a balcony, and as cliché as the whole scenario was, it at least allowed the pair to have some fresh air, and a bit of a breather from the excited, rather stifling crowd inside.

Anna looked at the gardens spreading out beyond the balcony, and she grinned at Percy. "First Disney, now Romeo and Juliet! I see you're a man of many tastes Mr. Jackson."

The smirk reappeared on Percy's face. Why shouldn't it? He had a beautiful girl alone with him on a balcony, wearing a beautiful dress, and they had been flirting all day. It was his wildest dream coming true in front of his eyes. Okay, well maybe not his wildest dream. That involved a talking horse with wings, and Grover as a goat. Not even going to get into that.

As he inched closer to Anna, he saw her bite her lip, and glance inside. "Juniper and Grover seem to be hitting it off." She said, a tinge of anxiety tainting her tone, as she nodded towards his best friend and the slim athletic runner, who were both currently giggling, while attempting to do something that resembled dancing. Neither seemed to be succeeding, but neither really cared. Speaking of not caring…

"Actually Anna, I kind of wanted to be able to talk to you alone, if you're not opposed to it?" Percy had no idea how the words flowed off his tongue so smoothly. Normally he was just a big ball of oblivious awkwardness, but seeing Anna all dressed up, and so gorgeous made him want to impress her. Big time.

Continuing to bite her lip, Anna nodded, giving him unspoken permission to speak.

"I…I'm not really good with words Anna."

There was that awkwardness making its reappearance.

"But I really like you. As in, really, really like you. And I don't want to mess this up…so would you let me show you?" His last question was barely above a whisper, and he was surprised to find that during his speech, he and Anna had gravitated towards one another, and their faces were inches away from one another. But he was even more shocked when she nodded. But hey, who was he to say no?

And so he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Anna's.

This was not his first kiss, he had kissed Calypso many times before. But nothing was quite like this. Her lips were warm and soft, so incredibly soft. How were her lips even that soft? The kiss was sweet and chaste, but long and kind. Percy added a very slight pressure to her lips, and his hand reached up on its own accord, to cup her cheek. He had known Anna for a day, and all he knew was that he wanted to spend eternity like this.

However, reality came crashing down in the form of a flashing camera.

"Percy Jackson! How long have you and Annabeth Chase been an item?"

"Percy! Percy! Does this mean you are no longer a bachelor?"

"Annabeth, is it true that you and Luke Castellan's relationship was literally destroyed?"

"Percy, Annabeth, can we get a statement on your relationship?"

Percy turned to Anna, who was pale white. His brain was still turning, but suddenly, something clicked into place. "Annabeth. They're calling you Annabeth."

The blonde gymnast bit her lip, and without another word, spun on her heel and fled the balcony, running back into the mixer, the sliding glass door slamming shut behind her. The paparazzi that surrounded the balcony immediately began taking more photographs, and shooting more questions his way, but Percy could only focus on one thing.

Anna had lied to him.

He had kissed his biggest rival.

**Okay, so I know this still doesn't make up for the huge gap between updates, but I did load it full of stuff! I'm sorry it's so choppy, I really wanted to get it out for you guys! Hopefully the kiss and Annabeth's identity being revealed will be able to tie you over until the next update! I can't promise when that will be, but it will definitely be sooner than three months! :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**I offer no excuses, only apologies. I cannot guarantee when the next chapter will be posted, but I will complete this story. Eventually :P Thank you to all who reviewed, despite my lack of updates, in the past four months. **

Percy Jackson sat at a hotel café, staring into his Styrofoam cup of orange juice. He was craving some caffeine, but that was not an option. Coffee had the odd effect of dulling his senses, and at the minute, he needed to be alert. He was confronting Anna today. Or rather, Annabeth. Annabeth Chase. His greatest rival.

He had barely slept at all the previous night, the events that had transpired at the party had been playing in his mind on a constant loop. Anna had lied to him. She wasn't who she said she was. She was his rival. She was his competition. She needed to be taken down.

Percy was furious. He had stormed from the party, shrugging off both Calypso and Grover, and heading straight for his hotel room. He had feigned sleep when Grover attempted to speak to him, but sleep had evaded him for the longest time. The betrayal and disgust had been the dominant emotions, and when he had finally fallen into an uneasy sleep, he had been restless, and his dreams had been filled with blonde haired devils.

Though he did not want to admit it, hurt was prevalent among all his other thoughts. He was more hurt over the fact that Anna, was not in fact Anna, rather than the fact that she was his greatest competition. Of course, that was quite a bruise to his already wounded ego as well.

But the fact was, Percy Jackson was not a naturally trusting person. His father had walked out on his mother, before he was born, Calypso had cheated on him, and now Annabeth had lied to him. Was there no end to the dishonesty that seemed to plague his life?

If he were to be honest with himself though, he would admit that a large part of him did not see the problem. Annabeth was a beautiful girl, and he was fairly sure she had not been lying to him, aside from her name. After all, it was fairly hard to fake a personality, or so he imagined. And he had been quite taken with the beautiful grey eyed gymnast he had been hanging around.

But he hated her. Or rather, he hated the thought of her. It had been so much easier to hate the intangible thought of Annabeth Chase, when he believed that she was an ego driven bitch, with no soul, and no desire to do anything other than win. But then he had actually met the girl behind the reputation, and within twenty four hours, he had found himself falling for her. Yet he then had to find out that she was not who she said she was.

Why couldn't anyone just be honest with him? What was the satisfaction in lying?

Sure, Percy wasn't honest one hundred percent of the time, but he had never lied about something as important as his identity. One would think that a girl would give her real name so that a guy might have some semblance of a clue as to where he stood. But no. With Annabeth Chase, the rules were not to be followed.

Though to be honest, Percy found it to be kind of hot.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he clutched his cup tightly between his hands. No. He did not want to be thinking about Annabeth like that. Annabeth was a liar. No matter how good she had looked in that dress last night though. She had lied to him about everything, and now both of them were suffering the consequences of it. But Percy would be damned before he simply let the blonde girl get away with completely deceiving him, simply because she had charmed him.

He wondered why he had been so drawn to her. He supposed she simply had natural charisma, but it seemed more than that. He had been inexplicably attracted to her from the beginning. It was almost as if he had been destined to fall for the pretty gymnast with the secrets she hid behind.

Percy physically shook his head, ridding those ridiculous thoughts from his head. Ha. He didn't believe in such things as Fate. It was a laughable notion, and the thought that he and Annabeth were 'meant to be' was ludicrous. After all, he was a young, attractive, eligible Olympic swimmer. He would have many opportunities with plenty of girls.

Yet somehow he knew that only Annabeth would really matter to him in the end.

"Percy! My man! How are you dude?"

Percy looked up from his orange juice, to see none other than Nico DiAngelo grinning widely at him. Returning the younger boy's eager smile, he held his hand up for a fist bump, which Nico happily returned.

"Hey yourself dude. I'm…tired." That was a blasé enough answer; honest, without truly giving anything away. Forcing himself to chuckle, he added, "But then again, aren't we all? So how is training going?"

Nico tossed his head back and groaned. "Dude, I feel like I'm living in the Underworld, it's so hot! You have no idea how much I envy you, getting to perform in the water. But it's going pretty well, you know? I'm excited to finally get to go to the Olympics. Greece sounds pretty cool anyways."

Percy grinned at his younger friend. "Yeah, cool indeed. I'm pretty stoked about being there as well. Apparently there's a lot of history and all, but I'm looking forward to the beaches!"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you totally have a one track mind before?"

However, Percy was no longer listening to Nico; his gaze was fixated on a person behind the dark haired fencer. A person with sharp grey eyes, and pretty blonde curls. Seeing Percy's gaze wavering, Nico turned around, and grinned, when his eyes locked on the same person.

"Ah, I see you've spotted Annabeth Chase. She's easily the prettiest girl at the Olympics. Though I've got to say, that Thalia Grace is pretty damn fine as well." Percy knew he should probably defend Thalia's honor, or some crap like that, but it wasn't going to happen. His mind was far elsewhere; besides, Thalia hardly needed his help.

"Yeah. One could say that I've met her." Well, he had met her alter ego Anna Sophos. Annabeth Chase was still foreign territory to him. As Annabeth's gaze traveled over to the two boys, her eyes locked on Percy, and she began striding determinedly over to the table where he was seated.

Nico, seeing this, shot Percy a grin. "Well, in this case, I suppose I'll just scram. Don't want to get caught up in the flirtation of mating season. I'll catch you later bro. Ms. Chase." Nico gave an extravagant bow to the flustered gymnast who had just arrived at the table, and she bestowed a grin onto him. Well wasn't he just the luckiest kid at the candy shop. Who wouldn't want a smile from the beautiful Annabeth Chase?

A certain dark haired swimmer named Percy Jackson.

Now that the two were all alone, an awkward silence had fallen over the pair. "Erm, Percy. Hi!" Annabeth was clearly striving for normalcy and attempting to act as if nothing had changed between them. "Look, I'm sorry about last night. Running off, you know. But…just so you know, I don't regret-I don't regret the kiss. That was pretty much the best moment of my life, which is saying a lot, considering that I'm going to the Olympics, and-"

It was rude, but Percy was hardly willing to extend his manners to the gymnast at the moment. So he really did not mind interrupting her. "Listen Annabeth-can I call you that?" A flushed Annabeth Chase nodded, and pushed a stray curl out of her face. A tiny part of Percy wanted nothing more than to grab it, and tuck it behind her ear gently, but instead his fingers barely twitched against the table.

"So, Annabeth. Are you a superhero?"

The blonde frowned, and shook her head, unsure of where the Olympic swimmer was going with this. After all, if it was a pick up line, it would be quite the non sequitur. "Um, no, but Percy, can we talk about-"

"So considering that we are not Clark Kent and Lois Lane, I really fail to see just why you felt entitled to lie to me about who you really are. I mean, sure, we only knew each other for like, twenty four hours, but still, of all the lies to come up in a conversation, I wouldn't naturally assume that someone's name is one of those."

Annabeth swallowed thickly, and bit her lip. "I know." She began, and Percy detected the obvious sadness in her voice. But now was not the time for sympathy. It was the time for cold honesty. "I know, and I feel just awful about it. But I never really lied, because-"

"Because you secretly have a twin named Anna, who was the real person I hung out with all day yesterday?" Something dangerous flashed in Annabeth's eyes at Percy's use of sarcasm, but he didn't bother in halting his rant. In fact, he was just getting started. "Because, let me know if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that friends are not people who lie to one another. And yesterday, I thought we were friends. In fact, at one point, I had thought that we might even end up being more than friends. We certainly had chemistry, that's impossible to deny. But then I have to find out that you aren't even the girl I thought you were. From the paparazzi no less! Tell me, Ms. _Chase_, what else have you lied to me about?"

And now he was on the receiving end of a glare. "That's not fair Percy. I'm sorry that I mislead you. That was never my intention. Sophos is my mother's name; she's an Olympic coach for Greece, which might have been a contributing factor in that mix up. And then they switched my first and middle names. I'm Annabeth Sarah Chase."

Percy simply stared at her. "Fine. I understand a mix up. But pray tell, why didn't you correct me, the very first time I called you by the wrong name? Why didn't you ever point out to me that your name was Annabeth, not Anna? You're making it very hard to believe you, and frankly, after last night, I find everything you say untrustworthy."

Annabeth swallowed, and glared at him angrily, seeming on the verge of tears, yet much stronger than to let them fall. "I'm not on trial here!" She hissed furiously at him. "I don't have to explain myself to you, but I will, because I have already admitted that I was in the wrong! Anna is a nickname, one that my close friends call me. I considered you a friend. So I let you call me that."

Percy felt a small lurch in his stomach. Anna, no, Annabeth, had considered him a close friend? But she had used past tense, had she not? "Well you still-"

"No!" Annabeth cried, standing to her feet angrily. "No, I'm not putting up with this anymore! I told you the truth, I told you what happened! What more do you want from me? I am truly sorry for the misunderstanding, but I do not deserve to be interrogated!"

She glared at him, her steely grey eyes flashing, and Percy had to admit, the sight was truly beautiful. "But I think maybe it's you who is the dishonest one here Percy. Be honest with yourself; are you angry at me, or at yourself for not realizing? Are you angry at me for 'lying' to you, or because of the fact that you ended up liking me, even though you are determined to hate who I really am?"

And with those parting words, laced with cold perception that Annabeth wielded like a scythe, the pretty gymnast walked away, leaving Percy wondering just who had been scoleded.


End file.
